We Still Have a Government, Right?: Canadian Politics 2020

From my Facebook wall:

Toronto: 496 new cases of COVID-19 today
Edmonton: 943 new cases of COVID-19 today

Toronto cases per 100,000: 119
Edmonton cases per 100,000: 755

I'm writing off 2021 and will be pleasantly surprised if things feel "normal" in any meaningful way before 2022 tbh

― it bangs for thee (Simon H.), Wednesday, December 9, 2020 1:43 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is probably safe. but assuming they are good at targeting vulnerable populations with the initial rounds, if deaths/hospitalizations decouple from cases and slow to a trickle, things could feel pretty different by spring

First vaccinations in Quebec and Ontario:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-vaccine-maimonides-covid-19-1.5840233
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-coronavirus-ontario-december-14-vaccines-arrive-1.5840092

Erin O'Toole says residential schools were originally created to provide education and "became horrible" and comes up with a partisan version of history where Liberals were to blame in the modern era and Conservatives were saviours or something:
https://globalnews.ca/news/7524370/otoole-residential-schools-eduction-horrible/

I don't see how the history he gives in the attached video clip even makes sense. How could Chrétien have opened residential schools if the programme was closed by Mulroney, who was PM before him? Or does he mean this happened when Chrétien was PET's Indian Affairs Minister in the 60s and 70s? Either way, it seems wrong since the last school closed in 96, three years after Chrétien took power and three years after Mulroney's last term ended. Is it true that PET opened as many schools as he says? I couldn't find anything on that, although it's not impossible.

Also, when did Mulroney's reputation get revived to the point that both Liberals and Conservatives praise him now??

There's a famous line in Chinatown that answers that.

“Most of the lefty radicals are also the dumbest people at your university,” O’Toole told the campus conservatives.

Classy!

you'd think O'Toole's goal would be to figure out how to win the 50 seats that they need for the majority and are currently held by centre leftish parties, but I guess that's too hard so he'll just keep engaging in right wing culture wars

https://globalnews.ca/news/7525966/residential-schools-otoole-bellegarde-indigenous-backtrack/

based on this and the BC election, Canadian conservative politicians need to never get on zoom

A record-breaking 2146 new cases in Quebec today, second day in a row above 2000. The post-Christmas spike will be nightmarish.

Ontario not doing much better: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-logs-more-than-2-300-new-covid-19-cases-25-deaths-1.5239213

After I saw someone mention it, I wonder if it's notable how low numbers are in Atlantic Canada. New Brunswick has 5 new cases, for instance. Even if you multiply by 18 to account for the difference in population vs Ontario, that would be like 90 new cases as opposed to 2300. Does population density explain it?

I was thinking the same, that it's similar to the mathematical logic that governs traffic jams (there's a term for it that escapes me): you steadily slow down as more and more cars appear, but then you hit the tipping point with one too many cars and everything quickly comes to a complete halt.

I’m expecting the restrictions to expand to more areas pretty soon. We’re Halton here, right next to Peel and judging by the unusually crowded state of our local malls right now, the regional approach hasn’t stopped most from going shopping and is only facilitating spread. I’ll be surprised if the schools reopen on schedule as well.

MB, with less than 1.5x the population of NB, reported 238 new cases on Saturday fwiw.

Sund4r - it's just much fewer initial cases before control measures were put in place.

Quebec had tons of COVID basically from the start, then it increases exponentially.

The cautionary tales are places like SK or AB: things can still get out of control to the point you have "too many initial cases before control measures are put in place."

An anti-vaxxer/covidiot protest is currently underway here. The fines will no doubt comfort them in their belief that a medicalized dictatorship has taken us hostage.

An anti-vaxxer/covidiot protest is currently underway here. The fines will no doubt comfort them in their belief that a medicalized dictatorship has taken us hostage.

This week was quite cold, but we're at -1°C today, which may have encouraged them.

I expected an extended school break, not this:

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2020/12/20/all-regions-in-ontario-to-enter-lockdown-starting-christmas-eve-source/

Regional approach is failing hard and cellphone data metrics confirm that very few are staying put right now. Reasons for that are debatable, but it’s an obvious enough problem that a blanket time out seems like the most effective counter measure. The dopes are going to lose their minds though.

If anything was learned from the spring lockdown, I hope at the very least panic-buying doesn't start up again.

For essentials? I doubt it’ll be the same as spring - but the regular retail outlets that are still open now are going to get absolutely slammed with people suddenly realizing there will be no Boxing Day sales.

I meant in terms of grocery stores--which obviously are staying open, but that didn't stop people in the spring. Anyway, lockdown already happened for much of the province weeks ago, so that question has probably already been answered. This'll be the first time for St. Marys since the spring, though.

Ugh, hope this doesn't happen. Ottawa currently has literally no one in the ICU and has had one death in the four days.

RIP Leo Panitch: https://www.facebook.com/CDNDimension/photos/a.1043081479039043/5404877109526103/

That makes sense btw, sean.

Word is that it’s set to be a 28 day lockdown, except northern on which gets 14 days, elementary schools closed til Jan 11, and high schools til the 21st, but with online learning. Unconfirmed tho.

more on the horrific digital eviction process

https://www.vice.com/en/article/epdavj/20-hours-of-watching-canadians-get-evicted-over-zoom-court-shows-a-system-under-strain

(I'm definitely just out of frame in that photograph, incidentally)

Ontario shutdown is official now: 14d in Northern Ontario starting Boxing Day, 28d in the rest of the province

He gave a shout-out to Ottawa's successes but said we need to shut down to keep out Quebecers fleeing their shutdown (?)

That actually made sense to me...am I missing the obvious flaw in that hypothetical?

No, the logic makes sense; was just confirming that I heard and understood right when listening and typing

Was also just frustrated. Although I'm actually not sure - is QC going to be locked down for the same length of time?

Lockdown in Quebec is only until January 11th for now. I expect it to be prolonged, but who knows with this government.

Breaking : @VeraEtches and @JimWatsonOttawa push back asking province to reconsider lockdown to make it 14 days in Ottawa not 28 because of lower numbers here #COVID19 #ottnews @ctvottawa

— Graham Richardson (@grahamctv) December 21, 2020

Is that a first - a city's chief medical officer asking the province to loosen restrictions?

Seems like closing the bridges to Gatineau might be simpler if the main concern is people coming from Quebec.

St. Marys will be locked down too. We've had eight total cases since this began; zero active; no new cases in two months.

I guess pissed that effective policy garnered not enough recognition? Interesting for sure. May be a fair request - if having Quebec next door is such a problem as Ford said, why is Ottawa doing so well so far?

In contrast here we had a helicopter hovering over the area all day, possibly because of extreme congestion at places like the premium outlets.

I guess pissed that effective policy garnered not enough recognition? Interesting for sure. May be a fair request - if having Quebec next door is such a problem as Ford said, why is Ottawa doing so well so far?

Gâtineau and the whole Outaouais region around it is among the places with the lowest amount of cases in Quebec currently, so there's probably not that much covid19 coming in from Quebec to Ottawa.

That being said, having spoken to a couple of people in the last couple of days who do not seem to be taking this particularly seriously even now, I'm not feeling particularly optimistic about the next couple of months for Quebec and Ontario probably should close the border with us (though I'm not sure this is logistically possible).

The new mutant strain seems to have arrived in Ontario. It was only a matter of time, I suppose.

You all following the Rod Phillips thing? I’m just catching it now. His own posts meant to mislead about being at home instead of St Barts are ridiculous enough, but it looks like other MPPs were also in on it. At least it appears that way. Infuriating.

Good timing, Rod Phillips: just shy of 3,000 cases in Ontario today. I'm not sure how much that is attributable to Christmas, and how much to the possibility that the new variant has been here for a few weeks (which would help explain how everything started to unravel).

this is nuts:

Rod Phillips on a Zoom call supposedly on Dec 16th - which would be from St. Barts. Sweater and all. With the Ontario legislature building in the background. You can hear the waves from the ocean at the beginning of the video. Several times. pic.twitter.com/oQ2gqIRPbZ

— KC (@kci2013) December 30, 2020

his little speech is perfect too

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-rod-phillips-caribbean-vacation-1.5857535

He'll learn his lesson when he experiences the almighty wrath of a very tough conversation.

3,300 cases today, and St. Marys has its third new case in a week (after three months without a single case). It has to be the new strain. Even if you account for Christmas and less vigilance, that should have been offset by lockdowns that have been in place for three or four weeks now in Toronto and Peel.